Resume Advice

Secure the interview…

A resume should be as concise as possible and give prospective employers and recruiters a summary of your qualifications, experience, skills and suitability for the role. The layout should be kept simple so that the employer will read it. Tailor your resume for the role you are applying for. Follow the tips below.

1. Personal Statement / Career Objective / Profile

Start your resume off with a concise paragraph outlining who you are. A key tip for this paragraph is to use key words and offer qualities highlighted in the job advert.

Ask yourself, does this paragraph clearly show why you are the right fit for the position and the company? If the answer is yes you have a great opening for your resume!

2. Keep it simple

Always keep the ‘keep it simple’ principle in mind when writing and formatting your resume. Follow a simple format and make important points stand out.

Structure / layout / format:

• Personal details - name, address, contact details
• Overview – as stated above, describe yourself with a paragraph
• Skill summary – an outline of your skills that are applicable to the job and company
• Work History – most recent employment first and work backwards
• name of company and position
• start and end dates of employment
• a brief description of the company and/or the scope of your role
• duties and responsibilities (use bullet points)
• highlight your achievements and success
• explain any significant gaps in your employment (e.g. career break)
• treat a promotion as a separate job
• Education/Qualifications – university, school, tertiary courses
• Other information – other skills, languages or on the job training that is applicable to the position.
• Interests
• Referees

Appearance/presentation:

• Font/typeface – use a consistent font, we recommend Times New Roman or Arial
• Font size – we recommend for Titles 12-14 and for the Body use 10-12
• Bold – use bold for headings only, avoid using capital letters and underlining
• Colour – use generic font colours, they need to be easy to read (dark blue or black)
• Alignment – all of your text should be aligned and indents the same throughout
• Avoid pictures
• Background and borders – best to avoid, but if you do use them make sure they are professional and do not distract from the information

By writing and designing your resume using this format, prospective employers will be able to easily read your resume, identify your strengths and match your skills to the position they are recruiting.

3. Be honest

Your resume is a guide for recruiters/employers to use in interview. Ensure the information in your resume is accurate, up to date and highlights what you have done. Don’t get caught out in interview.

Avoid using humour in your resume as this may not appeal to everyone.

Always use positive and professional language in your resume; this will reflect you in a positive light. Don’t use jargon or slang and make sure you do not use an unprofessional email address. Create an email account that uses your full name.

4. Give context to your achievements

To emphasise your achievements make sure to put them in context. For example: If you exceeded a sales budget, write actual figures; or if you completed a project in record time, write the original timeframe and how your involvement positively impacted this timeframe. Your accomplishments deserve centre stage as you have worked hard to achieve them.

5. Double-check everything

Spell-check your resume when you are happy with the content and layout. Make sure you get another set of eyes to look at your resume to pick up any grammatical errors. Spell-check does not pick up everything!